


My Brother's Keeper

by ellay_gee



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon Compliant, During Game, Gen, Hunting, Poor Prompto Argentum, Whump, i won't stop you, of course there's whump, unless you wanna put on some promptis goggles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-09 19:16:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19892959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellay_gee/pseuds/ellay_gee
Summary: In which a bunch of bets are made, along with stupid decisions, quick reflexes and poor judgement. And here we thought we were just hunting coeurls.





	My Brother's Keeper

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gnine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gnine/gifts).



> :: slinks out of the pits of writing despair to provide this offering for Gnine's birthday...late, of course, in true Ellay fashion ::
> 
> there's another one coming, too. A very late thingy thing for Kaciart's bday...but I'll probably finish one of the chapters in my WIPs first....maybe. At least that's the plan.

Yet another hunt. Noctis was getting fed up at this point, but it wasn’t like there was anything he could do about it. They needed money more than they needed sleep. So, here they were, out in the desert heat, trying to find the last of those damn coeurls. The tipster said they got paid for 8, and only 7 have been disposed of.

Ignis, being pragmatic, advised them to split up. They were about a mile in to a rocky canyon, and there were several spots the creature could be lurking.

Noctis, being a brat, insisted that he and Prompto be one team and Ignis and Gladio be the other, wagering that whichever team found the errant cat and killed it would be excused from setting up camp that night. A term to which Gladio quickly agreed, and made Ignis roll his eyes ever so slightly.

The prince and the gunner chatted happily as they made their way to the shadier side of the canyon, keeping a close eye on all the rocks and outcroppings, searching for their prey.

“You think you’re going to bag the beast with that?” Prompto lifted an eyebrow, flashing his friend a cocky grin, eyeing the spear Noctis held casually against his shoulder.

“Hasn’t hindered me so far.” Noctis huffed the blonde’s way, rolling his eyes as Prompto danced in front of him, swinging around to walk backwards while lofting his current favorite gun, Valiant.

“Now _this_ is something to hunt with.” He paused, taking random aim at shadows and rocks and small scraggly trees. “Guaranteed to fuck up someone’s day.”

Noctis skirted around the other boy, playfully shoving him as he sauntered by. “You’re obsessed.”

“What? Obsessed? Me?” Prompto affected a wounded tone, but he just laughed and twirled the weapon with flair. “I think you’re just a bad shot, so that’s why you stick to more …traditional equipment.”

Noctis grunted in disagreement. “Guns are your thing; I just don’t want to go showing you up with how awesome I am.”

Prompto scoffed incredulously. “How dare you insinuate you’re even near my league? If I do recall, I have some of the top scores at the citadel practice grounds _of all time_. That includes you, buddy.”

“That’s because I didn’t try hard at them. I could sure as hell out shoot you.”

“Doubt it. Heck, I’ll even let you pick whatever gun you want—I bet I’m still the one that takes down our mysterious friend out there.”

Noctis finally stopped, turning to face his friend. “Fine, but if _I_ take him down, you have to do all my camp chores for a week.”

“And if I win?” Prompto asked giddily.

Noctis flopped his head to the side, considering. “I’ll use my savings to get that new lens you were eyeballing back in Lestallum.”

“Aw, shit yeah, buddy! Prepare to be broke!”

* * *

In the end, Noctis chose Calamity.

In the end, calamity was exactly what they got.

* * *

They found footprints at the base of a large group of boulders, but they were confusing and led in multiple directions. It seemed the coeurl was indecisive.

So, they split up. Prompto picked his way through the rocks, going high to try and spot the spotted beast, while Noctis went around, checking all the nooks and crannies along the way.

The blonde hums lightly to himself as he gains higher ground, keeping his eyes peeled for any movement. There’s a stench of electricity in the air, so he’s sure the beast is near, but where? He mounts one of the highest boulders, stepping gingerly as he approaches a small crevice, and yes! There! The coeurl is just squeezing through to the other side.

Prompto considered following it for a moment, but thought better of it when he pictured the bloody mess he’d be if caught in an enclosed space with a giant angry electric cat.

So, instead, he scrambled up the rock, boots sliding on the sandy surface. Once at the top, he quickly spotted the coeurl again. This time, it was slinking down the path that Noctis was about to head up. Unfortunately, some of the tenacious little trees that dotted the outcroppings blocked his shot, so instead he tried to shout a warning to his friend.

Barely a syllable was out of his mouth when the prince whipped around, took aim, and fired—all in about a third of a second.

Prompto staggered, a blazing pain lancing through his chest. He pressed his hand to his ribs, and it came away with blood. Below him, Noctis stared, stricken at what he had done; frozen in place as the coeurl stalked nearer.

Shakily, Prompto brought up his gun and aimed the best his slowly fading vision would permit. He fired off two quick shots, stumbling as the recoil threw him off balance. His last coherent thought just before he hit the first rock on his long slide down was a quick prayer to the Six on Noctis’s behalf.

* * *

Noctis kept his eyes peeled as he checked all the blind spots on his path. The coeurl’s low rumble echoed off the high walls of the canyon, making the beast difficult to track. Twice now, Noctis had drawn a bead on the animal, only for it to flit off into a shadow, quickly blending in with the surrounding rock. It was infuriating, to say the least.

Noctis was determined to win, and he was going to gloat about it. This wasn’t going to be a repeat of the Great Arcade Battle of Senior Year. To this day he still refused to comment on Prompto’s landslide victory…

Another low rumble rolled through the narrow paths between the boulders, and Noctis squatted, ducking low to look into the shadowy depths of a small rock formation.

Shit. _Shit._ There were definitely more than eight.

A female coeurl lay in the shade, suckling three small cubs. Her amber gaze was steady; penetrating in its intensity. Her long tentacle-like whiskers flicked in irritation, sparking to life at the ends.

Slowly, calmly, Noctis rose to his feet and backed away. He did not breathe again until he was out of direct line of sight from the den’s entrance. Breathing a sigh of relief, he chose the closest path that led up into the rocks. He had to find Prompto, they had to—

A sudden cascade of gravel had him snapping his attention towards the upkicked dust. Without missing a beat, Noctis whipped Calamity up and shot. Breathing hard, the prince lowered his gun as the dust around his victim settled.

Prompto, wide-eyed, stared at his freshly stained hand. Then, without explanation, the blonde raised his own gun, swiveling it towards his best friend. Stunned, Noctis delayed his warp, and was still standing there when the first bullet hit the ground a few feet to his left. A second later, a yowl sounded out in response to the second bullet hitting home, wounding the large coeurl that was preparing to leap the prince’s way. Instead it hit the dirt, but Noctis only spared it half a glance as his friend’s body toppled forward and bounced its way down a steep path before rolling to a stop—a frighteningly complete stop—mere feet from where the angry mother coeurl lay with her cubs.

Noctis braced himself to warp to his friend’s aid, but a sudden snarl and a heavy weight barreling into his side changed those plans. He rolled ass over elbows, throwing a few angry punches at the wounded animal—

—holy shit, he just _punched_ a coeurl in the _face_ —

—before he brought Calamity’s barrel under its chin and fired, flinching as blood and flesh splattered against his face.

Hefting the body off himself, Noctis nearly leapt to his feet in his haste, but stopped cold at the scene laid out before him.

The mother coeurl had emerged from her den, the cubs behind her mewling in complaint. She sat over Prompto’s battered form, staring intently at Noctis with those dark amber eyes.

Swallowing hard, the raven haired youth slid a little closer, holding his hands up and murmuring to the beast. “Easy coeurl. Niiice coeurl.”

The coeurl remained nonplussed, swishing her charged whiskers lazily.

_notgoodnotgoodnotgood_

He couldn’t risk shooting her; he may hit Prompto ( _again_ ), or worse, she may get the drop on him since she was already primed for her most powerful attack.

“I’m sorry about your friend,” Noctis glanced over to the cubs whom had lost interest in what was going on in favor taking turns pouncing on each other. “…or whatever.” He edged a little closer. The coeurl growled (purred?) low in its throat.

“But…can I see if mine’s still …alive?” Noctis shook his head at himself. “I can’t believe I’m trying to reason with an animal.”

The coeurl regarded him coolly.

A bead of sweat trickled down Noctis’ temple.

They stared.

The puddle of blood beneath Prompto’s head grew incrementally.

In the distance, a bird cawed.

Noctis minutely slid forward again.

The coeurl snapped her whiskers, the air buzzing around her as she rose to all fours and backed away from the bloody blonde, turning slowly and slinking back the way she’d come.

Noctis dashed forward as she retreated to her den, nudging her cubs farther into the darkness. He slammed to his knees, hands shaking as he checked Prompto over.

There was a lot of blood. A lot a lot.

Too much.

He lifted the freckled and blood speckled youth into his arms, checking for — _yes_ — an exit wound, and thanked the Six for small mercies. He pulled a Hi-Potion out of the armiger, quickly pressing it into Prompto’s chest.

The mottled bruises faded first, and then the gashes the rough tumble had dealt him knitted back together. Finally, as the wound in his chest slowly disappeared and his friend drew in a ragged breath, Noctis sighed in utter relief.

Dazed lavender eyes found watery blue, and a shaking hand was placed upon the prince’s cheek. “D’ I get ‘im? He was gonna…gonna getchu. Had to shoot.”

“Y-yeah, Prom. You got him good. But we gotta get out of here, now.” Noctis got Prompto to his feet and looped the blonde’s arm around his neck to support him as they stumbled back towards where they’d split up with the others.

They met Ignis and Gladiolus on the path, the former rushing to their side check Prompto, and the latter rushing beyond them with sword drawn and face thunderously dark.

“What happened?” The advisor’s tone was urgent, but his touch gentle as he lowered the blonde onto a nearby rock.

“I’m a walking fucking disaster is what happened.” Noctis grumbled as he let Ignis do his thing. He watched as the ever-cool-headed Ignis administered an antidote in case Calamity had inflicted poison, and another potion for good measure.

“Fuck!” Noctis cried as Prompto got to his feet. “I forgot the evidence for the tipster. We’re not getting paid if we can’t prove we killed eight of them.”

“Don’t worry, Princess, I’ll go get it while you two get Blondie there back to camp. He looks like he could still use a nap.” Gladiolus grinned as he affectionately ruffled the blonde’s locks and strutted past them. “You said it’s about a quarter mile back?”

“Yeah,” Noctis nodded, waving vaguely at the path. “If you see the female coeurl—“

“I’ll only attack if she attacks first, yeah yeah. Don’t worry, Princess, I’m glad she spared the kid, too.”

“Yeah.” Noctis bit his lip, nodding to his shield. Once the warrior had disappeared around a bend in the trail, the prince went to assist Ignis in getting Prompto back to camp.

* * *

Hours later, Noctis and Prompto sat side by side in front of the fire. Foregoing their chairs, they huddled under a single blanket, roasting marshmallows while Ignis and Gladiolus prepared the rest of the fixings for s’mores.

“Hey,” Prompto began after clearing his throat twice. “I, uh, haven’t thanked you for earlier.”

Noctis pulled back to gape at his friend incredulously. “Thank me? Seriously, dude? I shot you. Believe me, no thanks required.”

Prompto snorted, bumping Noctis with his shoulder. “That part was an accident. Iggy filled me in on what happened post-tumble. Pretty cool of you to spare the momma coeurl, too.”

The prince shrugged. “She could have killed you. Hell, she could have killed us both. Didn’t seem right.”

“Yeah,” Prompto agreed and they lapsed into silence once more.

Later, when they were settling in the tent for the night, Noctis pulled Prompto close. He spooned the freckled youth quietly for a few moments; body curved protectively behind him, one arm slung over the blonde’s chest, hand held over where the bullet had gone in earlier.

“Sorry.” The prince whispered simply, earnestly.

“I know.” Prompto whispered back, shifting to get comfortable against his friend. 

"I'm gonna get you that lens." Noctis huffed.

"You don't have-"

" _I'm gonna."_ Noctis hissed, pulling Prompto in tighter. The gunslinger smiled at the wall of the tent and said nothing more. Within moments they were both asleep, exhausted by the day.

Ignis tossed a blanket over the pair before settling himself between Gladiolus and Noctis, the older two a veritable barrier to anything in the outside world that wished to threaten the younger. As it always was. As it should be.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed! Title (and general theme) taken from an episode of Bonanza, and I think they took it from the Bible or something.


End file.
